Use your brain or lose it

The brain is your most sensitive and useful organ. Never the less it is an organ and the same that holds for your muscles is true of your brain. The science of aging experts (geriatrics) have long known that people who keep their brains active to old age fare much better at cognitive skills than those who don’t. Use it or lose it is even more true about your brain than anything else.

In the Nun Study a longitudinal study of aging and Alzheimer’s disease funded by the National Institute on Aging. Participants are 678 American members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame religious congregation who are 75 to 106 years of age.

These sisters have lead quite similar lives from young womanhood – no drug use, little or no alcohol, similar housing, reproductive histories, etc.. Researchers have accessed the convent archive and reviewed documents through the lives of the participants of the study.

One such document reviewed was an autobiographical statement that participants made when joining the Sisterhood, the complexity and fluency of which (has been shown to be a significant predictor of the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Those who used their brains best as young ladies kept their brains best as old ladies.

A recent study further confirms the use your brain or lose it by showing reading or playing games, in middle age and later may help delay or prevent memory loss, according to new research. The study iexamined 197 people, ages 70 to 89, with mild cognitive impairment or diagnosed memory loss and 1,124 people in the same age group with no memory problems.

All the participants were asked about their daily activities within the past year, as well as when they were between 50 and 65 years old.

Those who read books, played games, used computers, and did crafts such as pottery or quilting in their later years were 30 percent to 50 percent less likely to develop memory loss than people who didn’t do these kinds of mental activities.

In addition, people who watched television for less than seven hours a day in their later years were 50 percent less likely to develop memory loss than those who watched television for more than seven hours a day.

Any activity (rather than passivity like watching TV) helps and of course physical activity uses your brain as well as brining more oxygen to your brain which keeps it fit.  The type of exercises which are good for your brain are:

• anything new. Thus learning a new language is  great way to keep your brain young and fit. My father who was fluent in Persian, French, and Turkish continued improving his English until the day he died. This kept him very young at heart.
• Cross word and other word games help with your verbal cognition.
• Learning a new sport or improving a sport you already know helps with hand eye coordination and also keeps you healthy.
• Learn a  musical instrument.
• Laugh a lot – ok I don’t know the formal research on this one but given that laughter is one of the best medicines in the world I can guarantee this one. In fact a Zen master once said that one deep belly laugh does you more good than half an hour of Zazen (sitting meditation).
• Relax – meditate.
• Go for walks and appreciate your friends.
• I notice that many old people play bridge. It is a wonderful thinking game as is chess.
• Dance.
• Forgive…. Remember that love is for giving – love is forgiving.

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